Kids who go to school are likely candidates for infestation, as are you are every time you go out in public. Below will be some of the top "Do's and Don'ts" of treating lice and getting rid of them for good.

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What are lice?

Lice is the plural form of head louse, a common parasite that can be found on humans. Just to be clear, head lice are NOT to be confused with booklice, which are a completely different insect.

Head lice live on a person's head where there is hair, usually by the scalp, in eyebrows, and even on eyelashes sometimes.

These pests feed on human blood and will bite the scalp to find their food of choice. Thankfully, although lice are irritating and gross, it's uncommon for someone to contract a disease from them.

People should remove them as quickly as possible though, because lice are vectors for illnesses like Typhus.

What do lice look like?

Nit: Nits are the tiny eggs laid by lice. These eggs are found near the scalp because they need warmth to survive. Nits are firmly cemented to the hair and can be difficult to remove even when the louse has hatched, making them one of the hardest parts to eliminate. A nit may be yellow or white in appearance and extremely difficult to see. They take 8-9 days to hatch.

Nymph: Lice nymphs are immature lice which need to grow to become adults. They feed on blood at this stage and take 9-12 days to become fully grown. Nymphs have six legs, long thoraxes, and tend to be tan, gray, or white.

Adult: Adults are fully grown lice. They are slightly larger than nymphs and possess many of the same characteristics, including six legs and the tan or grey coloring. Most adult lice live for 30 days and continue to feed off of a host's blood. The females are bigger than the males and can lay 6 eggs a day, making it easy for lice to reproduce and infest someone's hair. You are most likely going to be able to see the adult lice without careful inspection or a magnifying glass. Each adult has claws on the end of their legs which they use to grip hair and move around without falling.

What SHOULDN'T you use to remove lice?

If you search the internet for any amount of time, you'll notice that there are always "natural" ways to solve problems and save money.

Unfortunately, the people making those recommendations are not qualified to do so, and they are usually citing the opinions of other people or unverified sources.

This is bad and could result in injury to you and your family.

Warning about using Listerine to get rid of lice

Many people like to get creative with insect problems and come up with natural alternatives. If you search the internet, you might find some people recommending Listerine for lice removal. Please do not use Listerine as it contains 27% alcohol and will burn the scalp if there are open cuts, wounds, or scrapes. It could also be accidentally consumed by children, which further increases the risk.

In addition to Listerine, there are many other "treatments" circulating around the internet that you might come across. It's our duty as purveyors of pest control guides and information to make you aware of these treatments so you can steer clear of them.

Below are excerpts from the Spokane Regional Health District published guidelines for lice removal. Take a minute and familiarize yourself with some of their notes.

What methods should you use to remove lice?

There are three ways to eliminate lice: with a non-shampoo treatment, with a shampoo treatment, and with a specially made comb.

Thankfully, when you notice you have a lice infestation, treatment options are usually very effective. When you separate lice from their hosts, they usually die within a day.

Most of these methods can be done in the comfort of your own home. However, if you're not comfortable with the process, you can visit a special salon and have someone remove the lice from you and your family members for a price.

Head Lice Treatments

Many head lice treatments can be bought at the store or online and applied at home.

The most effective treatments usually contain pesticides or chemicals designed to kill lice. The most common ingredient in treatments is permethrin, which is safe to use on children 2 years of age and older. No two treatments are the same, but they share some common characteristics.

Most need to be applied to dry hair and allowed to sit for 5-10 minutes in order to kill lice.

They then need to be washed out to prevent harming you or the person you are helping. Many treatments do not kill eggs, which means you need to use the product several times over the course of 2-3 weeks carefully combing out the dead lice and nits after application.

Head Lice Shampoos

Shampoos differ from other lice treatments because they are designed like a regular wash. Most can be applied to wet or dry hair and allowed to sit for several minutes.

Shampoos tend to be gentler than chemical treatments, and may use more natural ingredients to combat lice. Because these products are not as strong, many need to be used over a span of several days and continually applied for a weak to achieve maximum effectiveness.

Many shampoos are designed for children and can be washed out after they are allowed to soak. However, a lot of shampoos do not eliminate nits without the aid of a lice comb.

Head Lice Combs

Finally, a head lice comb is a specially designed utensil that can knock out lice and nits. Each comb features thin, closely spaced teeth which dislodge nits and the claws lice use to stick to strands of hair.

Combs do not require any chemicals, and many come with rounded edges designed to stop you from cutting your skin.

Many manufacturers do not charge much for a comb - the average is $10 - and metal ones can be sterilized and reused.

It's highly likely that any lice treatment plan you go with you'll need to grab a lice comb. Thankfully, most products bundle lice combs into a nice affordable package.